Pretend
by HP Slash Luv
Summary: In a world where James never had a crush on Lily, and she never believed him to be an arrogant toerag that stalked her. Somehow, they still end up dating. For Shannon. Happy Birthday.


**Written For:**

 **Written for Shannon. Happy birthday.**

 **Friends Challenges:** TOW In Massapequa  
 _Prompt -_ _Write about two characters pretending to be in a relationship._

 **Are You Crazy Enough to Do It Challenge  
** _Prompt - 398. (restriction) story set at Hogwarts but no teacher can appear_

xXx

 **Pretend**

James sat next to Lily under a tree. "So, we have the same problem, huh?"

She sadly nodded. "I _tried_ telling Sev that I only see him as a friend, but he doesn't seem to believe me. He _insists_ we'd be the perfect couple. In his eyes, since I've never dated anyone, it was obvious that I was just waiting for him to decide he's ready for a relationship.

James arched his eyebrows. "Really? Granted, I'm not a big fan of Snape, or Slytherins in general, but that's kind of delusional."

"I know, but I'm hoping if he sees me dating someone, he'll give up his dream about us being together, and we could go back to being just friends, and since you have a persistent admirer in Mary Macdonald, I thought you might like a chance to get her off of your back."

"Off of my back?" he asked.

"It's a Muggle phrase; it means to get her to leave you alone."

James nodded. "You do know that Snape might not go back to being your friend, right? You might lose him because of how much he hates me."

"I know, but since he won't listen to what I want, I'm willing to take the risk. So? Do we have a deal?" She held out her hand.

"Deal," he answered, and he shook it in a firm grasp. "Tomorrow, we begin Operation Pretend Relationship."

xXx

The next morning, Lily and James sat next to each other at Breakfast. Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Alice had been filled in on the plan, so none of them acted as if it was weird. They held hands on top of the table, and James made sure to touch her as much as possible. He lightly tapped her shoulder or brushed hair out of her eyes, and his touch always lingered slightly longer than would be considered normal if they were anything _but_ boyfriend and girlfriend.

They both felt eyes on them. Eyes of envy from Mary and fierce anger from Severus.

They ignored it all and acted as if they were lost in the perfect bubble of new relationship bliss.

They walked to all of their shared classes together, and Lily could often be seen laughing quite loudly at James' jokes, even the ones that weren't all that funny.

And at night, they squeezed each other's hands and went to the separate dormitories.

xXx

"Severus accused me of faking it."

"Why?" James asked.

"Because we never kissed, and Mary also believes it's a lie for the very same reason. I tried explaining that we're not comfortable with public displays of affection and when we're by ourselves, we go crazy on each other, but I don't think either of them believed it."

James rolled his eyes. "That's because we're both passionate people, and they don't believe we'd be able to contain that passion if we were truly together."

"So what now?" Lily asked desperately, "Severus is even more insistent that he and I belong together. He keeps saying we're soulmates, and it's only a matter of time before I admit to him that he's right."

James' eyes flickered to something behind her at the same time Lily's eyes did the same to something behind him. And simultaneously, they crashed together, their lips meeting in a frenzy of kisses, as they held each other tightly.

They pulled back at the sound of whistling and crude comments from other students.

"Snape was behind you," James explained.

Lily giggled nervously. "And Mary was behind you. I guess we had the same idea."

"It's nice to know we're so in sync with each other."

"Yeah, and that kiss... Wow."

"Wow," James echoed.

xXx

"So, Mary has stopped pestering me, and I think Snape has finally given up on the two of you being a couple."

Lily nodded wordlessly.

"We could probably break up, and we'd be left alone. I guess."

Lily looked at him. "What if I don't want to break up with you? Because I have to admit that I've loved being your pretend girlfriend. I can't help but wonder what it would be like to be your _real_ girlfriend."

James smiled widely. "I would like to find that out as well."

Lily took his hand. "Good."

And just like that, a fake relationship became a real one.

 _Fin_

xXx

(word count: 721)


End file.
